Research On Rwanda

This investigation studies two of the causes of the 1994 genocide of Rwanda. The two causes are examined in order to see to what extent each contributed to the genocide. The social and ethnic conflicts between two Rwandan groups called the Hutus and the Tutsis caused violent disputes and riots. The assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana is often thought of as the event that sparked the mass murders. Did the assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana influence the Rwandan genocide of 1994 more than the ongoing social and ethnic conflicts?

Sitting outside a grocery shop in the Nyabugogo slum in Kigali, Rwanda, Francis Nduwimana described a longing for a change in leadership in the presidential election on August fourth. “Rwanda is tired of Kagame, but cannot express its views openly. If citizens criticize Kagame, the government agencies will accuse them of dividing the country, and will either be imprisoned or killed,” stated Nduwimana (qtd. in Onyulo). Paul Kagame has been the president of Rwanda since 2000 and could possibly be president till 2034. Under Kagame’s rule, the Rwandan military has gained a massive amount of power over citizens. Rwanda’s military is violating the Human Right’s by taking away Rwandan citizens voices and their ability to restrict the government.

Rwanda is a country located in the middle of the African continent. The two ethnic groups present in the country lived in peace under their monarch until the arrival of Europeans. The Belgians arrival into Rwandan is what split the two ethnic groups of the Tutsi and Hutus, making them identify themselves with ID cards. This caused tension between the two groups as the Belgians favored the ethnic Tutsi, and made them the head of the government. Decade’s later Hutu extremists would take over the government and have revenge on the Tutsi. The new government would send out broadcasts calling on Hutus to kill their friends and neighbors. The Rwandan genocide would become the worst genocide to ever happen in Africa and one of the worst in the world. Today Rwanda’s recovery is surprisingly fast with the help of multiple nations and organizations. Rwanda’s recovery is nothing short of a miracle and is an amazing story of a war between two peoples.

Rwanda is located in East Africa. Rwanda has a population of 12 million people and only 23% of this population has access to the electric grid. Rwanda boarders with Burundi in the south, Democratic Republic of Congo in the west, Tanzania in the East and Uganda in the North. It is a small, densely populated country, with an area of 3/4 of the Netherlands. Rwanda belongs to the 20 poorest countries in the world. However, economic growth was high in recent years, and the prospects for further development are good (World Bank, 2015).

Thesis: The Rwandan Genocide is one of the lesser known, quickest, and most inhumane genocides this world has ever seen, and it is still affecting the people of Rwanda till this day.

Although Peter Gourevitch talks thoroughly about the protection of the Tutsi’s from the Rwandan genocide in his novel “We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families” the hindrance of the eradication remains unclear from a reader’s discretion. The topics of discussion in Gourevitch’s book are solely focused on the idea of horror and casualties in consequence of the genocide. Although it is extremely important to reflect upon, in perspective, a reader is also curious about how the genocide could have been prevented. The logic of genocide is described as, “the product of order, authoritarianism, decades of modern’ political theorizing” (Gourevitch 1998: 95). In light of this notion, it is practical to wonder if every effort was made to prevent the possible reoccurrences made in the Rwandan blood-bath and what was necessary for prevention despite the reaching arms of help provided from United forces.

McDoom, Omar S. 2013. ‘To Aid, or Not to Aid? The Rwanda-United Nations University.’ United Nations University. http://unu.edu/publications/articles/to-aid-or-not-to-aid-the-case-of-rwanda.html (October 23, 2015).

The author throws light on historical background of Rwanda which clarifies the circumstances that gave spark to the huge extermination of

J.P. Stassen’s Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda gives us an emotionally harrowing tale of the pre- and post-Rwandan genocide from the perspective of a Hutu named Deogratias. In the pre-genocide era, Deogratias is depicted as a normal young man who is still trying to figure out his way in the world. He goes to school, works, drink alcohol, and flirts with the opposite sex. In the post genocide era, Deogratias is depicted with a torn, murky white shirt and red, haunted eyes. He is shown to be constantly suffering from the guilt and memories of his actions in the genocide.

Twenty years ago in the small east African country of Rwanda, eight hundred thousand people, mostly those of the Tutsi tribe, were slaughtered by their own government. The Hutu and the Tutsi tribes followed the same traditions and inhabited the same territory for over a thousand years. The rise of conflict between the Tutsi and the Hutu dates back to 1918, when the Germans lost their colonies following World War I, and the Belgians took control of Rwanda. In 1933, the Belgians establish the superiority of the "Tutsi" over the "Hutu" which lead to a great divide between these two groups (Admin of PBS.org). When the Belgians handed over power to the Hutu majority, a deep resentment of

Many were killed and had to be buried in mass graves due to the corpses in mass amounts (“Genocide”). The few survivors lost their families, homes, friends, and suffered awful health complications. Many survivors already lived in poverty, but now lived in unpropitious poverty. Survivors also had to undergo severe trauma from their horrific experiences. They had to reconstruct their lives as well as the city they knew and loved. These people subsided the awful treachery they had endured and united as a community to rebuild their homeland. Although, ten years after the genocide, ethnic relations in Rwanda remained tense (Genocide & Persecution Rwanda 39). Signs of genocide are still everywhere today and the effects of this tragedy are

In the spring of 1994, more than eight thousand Rwandans were murdered, slaughtered, and bodies piled up upon the streets in less hundred days. But yet, the only reason this genocide had actually stopped, was at the cost of the Rwandan Patriotic Army, a militant group primarily composed of Rwandan refugees whom reclaimed Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Yet, before the Rwandan genocide occurred, for many years, tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi had growth to extreme measures and lead to far more than just disputes- it lead to the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide was a mass slaughter of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority in which the Hutu were the ones attempting to overrule the colony in

Rwanda has lived both upside and downs, it a country that is trying to overcome a lot struggles and wounds. Rwanda experience a change of power in 1994 which begin with genocide and since these past 22 years Rwanda has been trying to overcome the sad time that the genocide brought. Most of the Rwandan population died at that time and the others migrated to other countries such as France and USA, some didn’t survive, other are still in the forest where they either stayed, got lost or are afraid to get back to the country and other were able to start a new life. CIA claims that “The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and temporarily stalled the country's ability to

Rwanda is a small country located in central Africa. It borders with Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. One of the most terrible “ethnic conflicts” occurred here in 1994, two tribes fought each other within the same territory, the rest of the world bizarrely ignored this event and thousands of people were killed. The event lasted 100 days and almost 1 million people died, even though the Rwanda government asked other countries for military

Prior to colonial era, Rwanda had larger population of Hutus compared to Tutsis and Twa. Rwanda as a country was divided into three ethnic groups i.e. Hutu (approximately about 85%), Tutsi (14%) and Twa (1%) (United Nations). Although, Tutsis were the minorities, they belonged to the higher strata compared to the other ethnic groups; Tutsis were privileged and had power and control over the Hutus and Twas. “Hutus were formerly bound to their Tutsi patrons via client ship” (Sinema, 2012). When Rwanda was colonized by Germany followed by Belgium, they favored Tutsis as they represented the upper class prior to the colonization. These created a social system like feudal system where there was a power difference between the Hutus and the Tutsis. Tutsis were considered as lord and the Hutus on the other hand, were considered as peasants. As a consequence, this created an ethic tension between the Hutus and the Tutsis and created a system more like apartheid. Nonetheless, they managed to co exist in Rwanda until they were decolonized. Although there is no social distinction between the Hutus and the Tutsis, the conflict between these tribes increased tremendously after the independence from Belgian that led to mass murder and ethnic cleansing of the Tutsi by the Hutu.